


Moments

by kl125



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe, Childhood Friends, Falling In Love, Fate, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Minor Violence, Romantic Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2020-06-23 14:59:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19703743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kl125/pseuds/kl125
Summary: Sometimes it's the little things that happen on life's journey that mean the most and last the longest.





	1. Chapter 1

**Age 3:**

Colby giggled as he watched Dolph search for him on the other side of the playground. He and his friend had been playing hide and seek ever since their teacher had taken them outside and this was the longest either of them had managed to stay hidden.

He was so caught up in his giddiness that he didn't even notice until the other boy had wedged himself up against him, shivering as tears slid down his trembling face. 

Colby hadn't really been paying much attention when his teacher had introduced the new kid this morning, too caught up in telling Dolph all about his dad's new car.

"You can't sit here!" he shared haughtily. "Me's and Dolph are playing and he's gonna find me if you're here too."

The other boy didn't even seem to hear him as he drew his knees up to his face and continued to sob.

"Hey!" he poked him again. "I said go away!" he whined.

The boy lifted his head, opening his mouth to respond when his eyes got wide and he whimpered, squeezing in closer to Colby, who turned around and saw just why the other boy was so scared and hiding.

Towering over them was second grader Bray, who loved to torment the younger kids at recess. Colby had just started pre-school himself earlier in the year and he'd learned early on to avoid the scary kid at all costs.

He frowned as the bigger kid suddenly reached over and grabbed the new kid's shoulders, picking him up effortlessly and shaking him as he pushed him up against the tree they'd been hiding behind.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Colby leapt to his feet and squared his shoulders, hands on his hips as he tried to appear bigger and more scary than he actually was. 

His brown eyes flashed with anger and for a second Bray actually seemed startled before throwing his head back and laughing, "Unless you rather I go back to showing you my fists little lamb, I suggest you back off and go play with your little friend," the older bully warned him.

Bray's fist moved back to punch the new kid, but before he could connect, Colby's foot was flying out and kicking Bray in his nuts, making the older kid groan and slump over.

Grabbing the other kid's hand, Colby took off running, "C'mon!" he urged, his little feet flying as fast as he could across the lot towards their teacher Ms. Holmes.

"I found you!" Dolph shouted triumphantly as he popped up next to them, only now noticing that Seth had the new kid with him, whose face was red from where he'd clearly been crying. "Y you wit' him?" he asked, confused.

Turning to their teacher, Colby excitedly tried to tell her what was going on, but she couldn't make out much in his babble, but that's when the new kid stepped up and began to talk to her, "He saved me from that big kid!" he said with a touch of awe.

Crouching down to Jon's level, the teacher asked him to continue and so he did hesitantly, his hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously while his thumb made its way into his mouth, making his words come out mumbled, but just recognizable, "I wanted ta play hide and seek too, but then I tripped and I, I hit that kid and I's said I was a sorry, but he got real mad and he hit my arm and gave me a owie!" he slid his shirt up to show her the red spot on his arm.

Rubbing it soothingly, she asked him to go on. Frowning, he shared, "He started ta chase me and I saw the other kid from our room hiding so I went there too, but the big kid found me and he tried to hit me again, but that kid kicked him right in the wee-wee!" once again he looked at Colby like he'd slayed a dragon.

Nodding, the teacher stood up and reached out for both of their hands, "Now boys, next time Bray does something like that, you need to come tell me or one of the other teachers, alright? We never hit or kick back, got it?"

The two boys nodded shamefully, but she had to hold back a grin as Jon pulled on her dress as he pleaded, "He's not gonna get in trouble is he? He was a saving me!"

Shaking her head at them, she shared, "No, but we are going to have to tell your parents what happened and Bray's parent's will be notified as well. Now I'm going to go talk to Bray's teacher. Why don't you three go play on the slides until I call you in okay?"

Nodding, Dolph took off running to where the other kids from their class were already playing but before Colby could join him, he was being stopped by a hand grabbing onto his, "Thanks!" the new kid said shyly, looking down as his thumb went back into his mouth once again.

"You're welcome! Did you want to come play with us?" Colby asked, his face a bit red as the boy's smile lit up his face, giving him his first glimpse of the boy's pretty blue eyes.

"Y-y-yeah! D-d-do you think they want me to?" the kid asked, a bit nervous.

"I want you to," Colby said decisively linking his arm through the other boy's. "What's your name?"

The boy stopped sucking his thumb long enough to answer, "Jonathan,"

"J-J-Jona...I'm jus' gonna call ya Jon, ok?" Colby asked, brow wrinkling up as he regarded the boy.

"Sure!" Jon answered, blushing as the kid's chocolate eyes lit up and he shared his own name, Colby, that was a good name.

As the pair began to march towards the other kids, Colby shared, "I think we're going to be good friends Jon!"

Neither of them had any idea just how prophetic those words would be.


	2. Chapter 2

**Age 6:**

"I said leave him alone!" Colby pushed the much larger kid away from them. 

The days of being bullied by Bray were long gone, but Brock had stepped right into that role when they'd wound up in the same first grade class together.

The bulky, mean kid lived to torment them despite the fact that they never backed down from him. 

Jon's mother had taken them to the zoo over the weekend and the boys had been talking about the trip ever since. 

When their teacher asked them to sit down and draw a picture for their parents, Jon had immediately began making a zebra and giraffe, while Colby was sketching out a furious lion.

However, Colby's picture was extremely accurate, but Jon was coloring his zebra with blue and yellow stripes and the giraffe with red and black.

Naturally, Brock had taken one look at the picture and had started to laugh at him, "That's stupid! Zebras are black and white and giraffes are orange."

He'd reached over and jerked the piece of paper away from Jon, tossing it on the floor. One look at Jon's teary eyes and Colby had jumped up from his own desk to confront their tormentor.

Seeing Brock rearing back to deliver a punch, Jon jumped up and threw himself in front of him, taking the brunt as Jon rocked back into Colby, knocking them both over. 

Quickly, Jon sprung back up to his feet, still ready to fight when their teacher stepped in, breaking things up and sending all three of them down to the Principal's office.

The second they walked in, he stared at them with disappointment, "Boys, how many times a week do we need to do this?"

Immediately, all three were trying to tell their version of what happened, talking over top one another. Raising his hand, their Principal stopped them as he asked them to save it for their parents.

...

Jon's mother Trish was at work when she got the call to come into the school for yet another meeting. Sighing, she went to beg her boss to briefly let her take her break early so she could make the meeting.

Frowning, he allowed her to go, but she didn't know how much longer he was going to put up with this. 

Jon and his friend Colby tended to attract trouble, but this week they seemed to be trying to top the others with this being the third time she'd had to come in to talk to someone.

Jon had been a surprise, one that she was grateful for everyday, but one that had upset the difficult life that she already had. She'd been estranged from her family at the time and the father had wanted no part of a child so she'd been forced to go it alone.

She struggled daily to put food on the table for them and had leapt on the opportunity to move to Iowa when her younger sister had asked her to come live with her.

Her sister was the only person in her family who ever gave her the time of day and with her help she'd managed to get a decent waitress job and had her to look after Jon when she couldn't.

Certainly the move had seemed to benefit Jon, even with all of the trouble he seemed to find himself in. Before she'd moved here, he'd been a withdrawn, angry little boy, but earning Colby as a friend had done wonders with him, bringing him out of his shell and giving him some confidence.

The pair together were trouble, but she was grateful for the way Colby always stuck up for her son and tried to include him in everything he and the other kids were doing.

As she walked up the school steps, she wasn't surprised to find Colby's parents, Hunter and Stephanie, doing the same.

Stephanie greeted her warmly, but Hunter just grumbled at her. She knew he wasn't happy with their son's friendship, blaming Jon for any and all trouble that Colby got himself into. 

She had her suspicions that it was less about that and more about her own social status. Stephanie often had her and Jon over for play dates at their big house and clearly they lived quite differently from the way she and her son did.

Steeling herself, they all walked inside and listened to what their boys had gotten themselves into now. The other kid's parents were also there and spent their time glaring at them.

She already knew that nothing that was said would ever convince them that their son was anything but the perfect apple of their eyes.

After admonishing the boys again, the principal sent them back to class before turning back to them and urging them to do something about the situation before it got out of control.

"Don't worry sir, my son won't be a problem for much longer! I've found a nice, private school for him to attend in the fall," Hunter shared, making Trish look up in surprise.

Stephanie frowned at him and shared a pitiful look with her. Clearly she didn't share her husband's views.

Trish hoped that she was able to talk some sense into him because she'd hate to see what would happen to Jon if his friend was torn away from him.

She had to keep herself from rolling her eyes when Brock's father Paul announced that his son would also be exiting in the fall to attend a prestigious military school since clearly the public school system wasn't prepared to handle such a fine specimen as his son.

Outside, Stephanie asked if she and Jon would like to come over this weekend for a barbecue that they were having. 

Seeing the look Hunter threw at her, she politely declined, but they agreed to set up another play date the following week.

Heading back to work, she worried about her son's future.

...

Back in their classroom, Jon and Colby were huddled up at the back of the room as the other kids played around them. 

The pair were putting their heads together about what they could do to finally make Brock back up off of them.

Thinking about the Halloween mask that Colby had been carrying around in his backpack and the silly string that Jon's mother didn't know he had swiped, their plan slowly came together.

Giggling, they prepared to pull off their best prank yet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Age 9:**

"Run!" Dolph shouted at Colby as he made his way around the make-shift bases set up on the field at the end of their block. Whenever they had a chance they hooked up with some of the other boys in the neighborhood to play baseball.

Seeing one of the boys from the other team running at him, Colby quickly sidestepped him and picked up his speed, crossing home plate just before he could be tagged.

The rest of his team surrounded him with hugs as they all celebrated their win. 

One of the boys invited them back to his house for lunch and although a few declined, most of them agreed, beginning to walk that way.

As Dolph told him about the batting cages his dad had taken him to, Colby's attention was drawn away by the sight of the boy standing in front of his house waving at him.

Next to him, Dolph groaned, "I thought you were hanging out with us today. What's he doing here?"

Colby shrugged, "I don't know, but it's cool if he comes, right?"

The other boys rolled their eyes at him as the one who invited them over shared, "No one wants that weirdo around Colby. We don't understand why you're friends with him."

"Jon's cool! I don't know what you guys have against him," he snapped back.

Turning to Dolph he asked, "Do you want to come hang at my house? I've got some new games."

Dolph frowned, "Sorry man, maybe next time."

Colby watched as the boys continued on their way before turning and crossing the street to his house.

"Jon, what are you doing here?" he asked harshly.

Eyes dropping, Jon shuffled his feet as he whispered, "My mom got called in to work and my aunt is sick. She called your mom and she said I could come here. Sorry if I interrupted."

Feeling bad, Colby softened his own tone, "Cool! We just finished our baseball game and I'm hungry."

Jon's eyes lit up when he wasn't rejected. He and Colby still went to the same school, but Colby's father had made sure they were in separate classrooms, only getting the chance to sit together at lunchtime.

While Colby had made some new friends, Jon barely spoke to anyone, clamming up whenever his teacher tried to engage him.

Only Dolph went out of his way to talk to him, but he was sure that had more to do with Colby than him actually wanting to be his friend.

Splitting him and Colby up had deterred some of their pranks, but the boys still managed to get into trouble during lunch or when they happened to be out at recess at the same time. 

Thus, their parents were still having to make trips to the Principal's office on occasion, a fact that Jon was kind of proud of. He loved the fact that Colby went along with anything he ever suggested to him.

Happily following along, he followed his best friend into his house where Colby's mother had already made them some sandwiches and snacks.

Grinning, the boys grabbed their plates and immediately headed for the basement where Colby's video game system was all set up, still holding a game from the last time Jon had come over to play.

...

Hunter arrived home from work at the same time that Jon's mother was picking him up. He politely said hello to them before entering the house and finding his son watching his friend leave forlornly.

"Hey son, what do you say I get out of this suit and you go show me that hitting you've been showing off around the neighborhood? Mr. Parker told me he saw you playing with the boys earlier and you scored a pretty impressive run," he shared.

Colby's eyes lit up as he began to babble about how much fun he'd had playing, following his dad up the stairs and to his room.

As Hunter listened to him, he began to hatch a new plan to get his boy away from the bad influence of that kid. 

It was high time he signed up Colby for baseball since their attempt at getting him to play soccer had been a bust.

Yes, eventually Colby was going to lose interest in Jon tagging along with him everywhere and realize there were plenty of other kids much more suited to his interests and lifestyle.

...

At school the next day, Colby couldn't wait to share his news with his best friend, anxiously twitching in his seat all morning until he could rush out to the lunch room and meet up with him.

Sliding into the seat next to Jon, the words were already spilling out of him, "My dad signed me up for baseball last night! I get to start playing next week," he bounced up and down as he talked, making Jon frown.

A baseball team meant that Colby wouldn't be able to have him over to hang out as much. It also meant even more friends for him who wouldn't want to be around Jon. 

Even at his young age, Jon knew what that meant for their friendship. It was only a matter of time before Colby ditched him and Jon knew he'd deserve it for being the weird kid that he was.

Jon startled as he suddenly focused back in on Colby's words, "So my mom called yours this morning and they said it was okay if I came back to your house today since your mom is off of work. I was thinking maybe we could convince her to sign you up for the team too? I know you're not that big on baseball, but you've got quick feet. I bet you'd be great in the outfield!" he bounced excitedly, throwing Jon a pleading look.

Grinning, Jon immediately was on board with the offer. Maybe he didn't need to worry about getting ditched after all!


	4. Chapter 4

**Age 12:**

"Minecraft!" Colby shouted, quickly being drowned out by Jon's own bellow, "Fortnite!"

The boys glared at one another, their backs hunched defensively as they argued over which game they were going to play. 

Colby was over at Jon's house visiting after school and he'd barely let Colby in the door and down in the basement before their latest fight began.

Rolling her eyes, Trish tried to ignore them. Putting herself in the middle of one of their fights was just pointless because another one would start up minutes later and it was easier to just let them work it out amongst themselves. 

She'd known that having a pre-teen wasn't going to be easy, but it was like her son had grown into a fuming, angry young man over night and she was unprepared for the headaches that came with the change.

Still, she was glad that Colby was able to come over and spend the night with Jon. 

Since Hunter had made good on his threat and enrolled Colby at a private middle school, the boys hardly got to see one another, though she knew they were constantly texting one another and chatting online with one another as they played their numerous video game collections.

Money was still tight, but she was determined to make sure that Jon didn't miss out on anything that any of his friends were doing or had, even if his cell phone wasn't as fancy as the others or he couldn't get the new games the second they hit the stores like everyone else did.

She'd been pleased at first when Jon finally brought home a couple of other boys from his school, but after witnessing some of their rude behavior and the way Jon tended to act around them, she was grateful to see Colby once again.

Walking into the room, she was pleased to see the boys had settled down and were currently playing Colby's favorite, his active brain already moving a mile a minute as he shouted instructions at Jon as they juggled their building blocks.

"Colby, it's nice to see you again. Just wanted to drop off some snacks for you guys. If you need anything else I'll be upstairs watching tv," Trish said, smiling at them.

Looking up, Colby threw her a grin, "Thanks so much. My mother wanted me to say hello. My dad dropped me off, but she'll be picking me up tomorrow."

Satisfied that all was well, Trish headed back upstairs, eagerly waiting for her sister to come home from her date so she could get all of the juicy details.

...

"So she kissed you?" Colby's eyebrows rose as he regarded his best friend.

Jon shrugged, "Just on the cheek, it was no big deal."

Colby eyes bulged again, "Are you kidding me? Alexa was the cutest girl at our school and she chose to kiss you, cheek or not that's a huge deal!"

Jon blushed, squirming awkwardly as he tried to change the subject, "What about you? Picked up any girlfriends at that school of yours?"

Colby frowned, "Nah, they're all lame! The only cute one is the girl Dolph has his eye on, Sasha. I think he just likes the fact that she comes in with her hair dyed a different color every week."

Now it was Jon's turn to frown. He hated the fact that Colby's other close friend had also transferred schools and was still able to see him everyday and hang out all of the time. 

"So how's baseball going?" he asked to once again change the turn of conversation.

Colby grinned, "It's great, man! I wish you would have stuck with it, our schools could have played one another!"

Jon shook his head, "Nah, you know I'm not all about that whole team thing. Besides, I joined the photography club."

Colby stared at him in shock, "You, you what, really? Jon Good joined a after school activity willingly? What did you get in trouble and they forced you to?"

Jon glared at him, "No! Mr. Gold really thinks I have some promise and I like taking pictures!"

Noticing how hurt he looked, Colby tried to backtrack, "That's awesome man, really! And it's something that you don't have to rely on other people for, right?"

Jon stuck his tongue at him, "Funny! But you're right, I like the whole solitary aspect of it and who knows, maybe it can lead to something. One day I'll be a world-class photographer and you'll be a world class writer!"

Colby laughed, "I can write a book and you can provide pics to illustrate it!"

Jon grinned as he stuck his fist out to bump his friend's.

Although Colby really loved baseball and was hoping to one day get a scholarship to play for a good school, he was just as in love with his English class and had even signed up for Creative Writing for next semester.

There was just something about putting things into words that made him happy.

He smiled as he thought about how Jon had been the first one he'd told about his journals and the stories that he liked to make up. He knew that it wasn't something his father would approve of, but his friend had been hugely supportive and with his urging he'd gotten more involved in his classes and stopped hiding his talent.

Thinking about how much he appreciated his friend, Colby looked over at Jon and offered, "Do you want to ride our bikes to the park? I made sure dad dropped mine off too. Maybe you could bring your camera?"

Jon's smile was answer enough as the giggling boys jumped up, shouting up to Jon's mom as they stampeded to the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back from vacation and trying to catch up on some of my stories! Sorry this one took so long to update.

**Age 15** :

"Come on Colby, you have to come!" Jon pleaded with his friend.

"Jon, my dad would kill me if he knew I was trying to sneak into a club! Besides, do you really think anyone is going to believe any of us are of age?" Colby rolled his eyes at him.

"They will with the fake I.D.'s we're going to be using, come on, Jake does it all the time!"

Colby rolled his eyes at him again, "Then let Jake get caught then! Why don't you just come back to my house and we can have Dolph and the guys come over and we can set up a video game tournament or something and order some pizza."

"Yeah, so your friends can ignore me all night!" Jon huffed. 

After much complaining and whining on Colby's end and the support of his mother, Colby had been allowed to attend the public high school the previous year.

Although thrilled to be starting their freshman year together, the boys had been spending more and more time apart since Colby's friends didn't want Jon around and Jon's friends thought Colby was too uptight.

Dolph had entered a private high school, but he still spent a lot of time at Colby's house after school with all of their other friends on their block. He still tried to make a effort to get along with Jon for Colby's sake, but none of the others were quite as open to the idea.

Jon wasn't helping his case any as he continued to hang out with the more dangerous crowd in school. His friend Jake had been in and out of juvi already and Colby worried that Jon was going to get mixed up in something he wasn't ready for. 

Sighing, he tried again, "Jon, how long has it been since the two of us have hung out by ourselves?"

Seeing that Jon was starting to give in, he pushed a little further, "Remember how you were saying you wanted to get out and photograph that abandoned building sight a couple of weeks ago? I was thinking that maybe we could go do that and then maybe we could climb onto the school roof again and watch the stars. I've been a little stuck on the story I've been writing and you know that always helps give me some inspiration."

"Alright, we can do that and I can always meet up with Jake later," Jon stated, already beginning to ramble excitedly about the photos he could shoot.

Nodding along, Colby made a silent promise to make sure that he kept Jon so busy that he wouldn't even think about leaving to go meet up with Jake.

Jon was his best friend and he wasn't going to let some other punk bring him down to his level if he had anything to say about it!

...

Colby had been proud of how he'd kept Jon from making such a big mistake and over the last month the pair had been inseparable, spending their time encouraging their private dreams and, of course, playing video games to their heart's content.

Thus, when he'd called Jon up to see what he was doing with his Saturday night, he was surprised when his mom answered the phone and told him he was out with his friends, seeming confused that he wasn't with them.

Not wanting to get his friend in trouble, he made up some excuse about forgetting and how he'd go meet up with them now before hanging up as he threw himself back on his bed with frustration.

Jon hadn't said anything to him about doing anything this weekend and he'd never not made plans that didn't at least include him asking Colby to come along.

Angry, Colby reached for his phone determined to make plans with his own friends. If Jon wanted to go out and do something stupid then that was on him, or at least that's what he tried to tell himself.

Try as he might, he couldn't get the thought of his friend out of his head, making the others ask him what was up as he kept getting distracted during their trip to the arcade.

Finally, Dolph had pulled him aside, "What's up with you tonight? We haven't seen you in forever and now you're acting like you don't want to be here."

Grimacing, Colby told him what was going on, "I just don't want him to mess up, you know?"

Dolph shook his head, "You're not his keeper man! He can take care of himself and if he wants to hang out with those guys, then that's on him. Maybe it's time you realized that you need to let go. I mean, you guys have nothing in common, I really don't get why you like hanging out with him."

Eyes shooting fire, Colby wrenched his arm away from him, "You just don't get it! Jon is my best friend and he's always there for me, I just want to return the favor! And you don't know anything about our friendship, we have plenty in common!"

Dolph held his hands up placatingly, "Whatever you say, man! I'd just hate for him to bring you down too. You've got your life together and a bright future, don't let him take that away," he stated as he walked away.

Furious, Colby went home where he threw himself on his bed and spent the rest of the evening watching some dumb movie that he could care less about.

He couldn't understand why everyone was against him and Jon. Why couldn't anyone else see the great guy that Colby saw every time he looked at Jon.

Yeah Jon was a bit awkward, but he was also smart and funny and sweet when no one was paying attention to him. He supported Colby in everything he did and he was always there to listen and encourage him when he was down. 

Still furious, he jumped when a knock rang out at his window. Striding over, he wasn't surprised to find his best friend grinning in at him from where he'd climbed up the drainage pipe.

Stepping back, he let him crawl inside before turning to him, "What are you doing here?" he yelled, making Jon frown.

"My mom said you'd called so I figured you were at home. Just wanted to come see what you were up to," Jon responded, hurt seeping into his voice.

Anger leaving him instantly, Colby sat down as he shared, "I was afraid you were out getting into trouble with Jake. I got into a fight with Dolph because I was spending more time worrying about you than spending time with my friends."

Jon frowned, sitting down next to him as he bumped his shoulder with his own, "The guys were sneaking in to see that new slasher flick you said you'd already seen and didn't like. Figured I'd go to that and then see if you wanted to meet up."

Colby groaned at the mention of sneaking into the theater, but he chose to ignore it, happy that his Jon was here and safe. It didn't even occur to him that thinking of him in that way might be a bit strange or possessive. 

Instead, as Jon opened up his arms to give him a hug, Colby snuggled right on in, his head resting on his best friend's shoulder as he thought to himself, " **MINE!** "


	6. Chapter 6

**Age 18:**

"I can't believe that you're doing this to me!" Colby huffed. "You promised you'd be there."

"Colby, what do you want me to do? Alexa wants me to come to her gymnastics meet," Jon shared.

"And you already promised to be at the fiction reading! You're the one who convinced me to enter this damn short story contest and now you're going to abandon me?!" Colby fired back.

"But Colby..." Jon began to whine before getting cut off.

"No! It's bad enough that we haven't hung out in weeks because you're either with your girlfriend or doing something stupid with Jake and his friends, but you know how much I need your support tomorrow!"

"Maybe if you had a girlfriend you'd understand!" Jon snapped.

"No I wouldn't because I wouldn't abandon you just because I had one! You're letting her and Jake take over your life. When was the last time you did anything you wanted to do? Hell, when was the last time you picked up a camera? You haven't even been attending the photography club meetings!" Colby's voice rose as he finally let out the frustration that had been building inside of him for awhile.

"How is that any of your business?" Jon asked.

"You're right, it isn't!" Colby yelled into the phone before hanging up on his friend. Feeling like crap, he threw himself back on his bed as he let out a frustrated scream. "Stupid Alexa, what's so great about her anyways!"

He frowned as he thought about Jon's words. Just because he didn't have a girlfriend of his own didn't mean anything. He'd gone out on dates with a few girls but none of them had held his interest for long.

Oh well, he didn't need him anyways! He'd go and read his story just like he'd practiced. It didn't matter that Jon and his dad wouldn't be there. His mom and Dolph would be there to cheer him on and that would have to be enough!

...

Jon rolled his eyes as the girls around him erupted into giggles once again. The gymnastics meet was over, but Alexa was lagging behind still chatting with her friends while Jon paced on the sidelines.

 _"Colby's right,"_ he thought to himself. _"You and her have nothing in common. The only reason she evens likes you is because she thinks you're a bad boy and she's getting one over on her parents by seeing you."_

"Let's go Jon!" her bossy voice interrupted his thoughts as she gestured at him to move along and follow her.

Sighing, he joined her as they took off to her car. He still couldn't afford his own and his mom certainly couldn't afford to get him one so he was forced to have her pick them up for their dates and she never let him forget it. 

Every time he tried to suggest they go and do something, she'd remind him that since she was the one doing the driving that she got to pick where they were going.

Staring at her as she chattered away, he found himself thinking about how he and Colby always switched off on plans so they both got to do things they liked to do. 

Cutting her off, he asked, "Can we swing by the school? I want to see if that short story thing is still going. Maybe I can still catch Colby's reading."

Alexa just glared at him, "I want to get ice cream so that's what we're doing."

Usually this was the point where he'd back down and give in, but enough was enough! Glaring back at her, he demanded, "I want to go to the school!"

"And I said we're going for ice cream!" she hissed back.

Pounding the dashboard, Jon yelled, "Pull over and let me out!"

...

Colby had begged off the dinner that his mother had offered to take him and Dolph to. He'd told her that he'd made plans to meet up with some friends and told Dolph that he had plans with his family and that he'd see him later. 

Instead, he'd wandered up to the roof alone, stretching out to stare at the stars as he finally let the tears that he'd been stuffing down out.

Maybe his father had been right and his writing was a dumb dream! He'd finished sixth in the contest after delivering a shaky reading of what he'd written.

"Colbs, you up here?"

He jumped as Jon's voice echoed across the roof. He remained silent, closing his eyes as he tried to fight back his feelings.

It didn't take long for Jon to scramble up and find him, standing above him as he stared down at him. Moonlight hitting his cheeks, it was clear what he'd been doing as evidenced by the tracks of tears.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Colby turned onto his side away from him, "I'm fine," he snapped.

Rolling his eyes, Jon lay down next to him, reaching out to forcefully take his hand as he shared, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I tried to get there in time, but I was late."

Colby remained silent.

"I called your phone and when I didn't get a answer, I called your house and your mom told me what happened and said you'd stayed behind to hang out with friends, but I knew you wouldn't want to be around anyone right now," Jon plowed on.

"Yeah well, it doesn't really matter, I would have sucked if you'd been there anyways!" Colby stated.

"Hey, that's not true! Your mom said you came in sixth out of thirty-five students. That's amazing for your first time trying!" Jon's awed voice finally got Colby to roll over and look at him.

"You think so?" he asked, meekly.

"I know so! You're only going to get better from here," Jon reassured him. "Next time we'll get someone who actually knows what they're doing to edit it for you. Plus you'll have the experience down."

Colby sighed, "You didn't hear me read it. I was so nervous! I sounded like such a dork!"

Jon glared at him, "You're not a dork! It's not your fault that your best friend is a massive asshole!"

Colby frowned at him, "How is it your fault that I stumbled through it?"

"I should have been there to support you. I knew how anxious you were about it and I'm sure being mad at me didn't help you relax any. I notice you didn't disagree with the asshole part," Jon nudged him in the side, making Colby giggle.

"Yeah well, you kind of deserve that!" Colby quipped back.

"I do. You were right about Alexa. I've been letting her lead me around by the nose because I was so caught up in having a pretty girl on my arm. I liked that the others were actually paying attention to me because of her, but having a bunch of fake attention doesn't mean anything compared to having someone who always has my back like you do. Forgive me?" Jon's puppy dog eyes made Colby roll his.

"Yeah I forgive you you asshole!" turning back around Colby stretched back out on his back, hand still holding onto Jon's, who settled back next to him.

Together, they let the beautiful view in front of them wash over them as they relaxed for the first time in what felt like forever.


	7. Chapter 7

**Age 21:**

Colby's heart beat faster as he stepped out of the plane and made his way inside the terminal. 

After three years of coming home during his breaks, you'd think that he'd be over the nervousness of stepping back into his old life, but here he was once again both anticipating and dreading the moment he'd cross out of the exit and back into his hometown.

No matter how much time had passed, his father still wasn't happy with his choice to major in English and he'd spend his whole break letting him know his thoughts on the subject. Then there was his mother who did nothing but smother him the whole time he was home, driving him crazy in the process. 

If that wasn't enough, he'd have to listen to his neighborhood friends tease him about his choice in schools and majors while they shared all of the cool things they were doing at their chosen schools as if he should be jealous for some reason.

Sighing, he braced himself as he stepped out and saw his mother waving eagerly at him as his dad stood frowning next to her, clearly not happy that the flight had been delayed.

At least he could count on Jon's presence later in the evening. He knew that Jon was working right now, but he never failed to pop in for dinner every time that Colby made it home.

Jon had been his rock over the last few years, encouraging him to step away from his father's influence and make his own choices. Although he didn't want to see Colby leave town, he knew that it was what was best for him and he'd been thrilled when Colby announced that he'd been accepted at Columbia University in New York.

Jon had helped him move into his dorm room and then a year later into a apartment of his own. He tried to visit Colby as much as he could, working a ton of extra hours as a mechanic at the garage around the corner from where he still lived with his aunt and mother to pay for his weekend trips.

Colby eagerly waited for those visits as he busted his ass to remain at the top of all of his classes while writing for the school newspaper. He'd made a few friends, but no one seemed to get him the way that Jon did. He didn't know how he would have handled all the pressure of his first year there without Jon's constant support.

Grinning to himself, he tuned out his father's complaints as he threw his bags into the truck of the car and slid inside for the trip home.

...

Jon slid out from under the truck and wiped his hands off with a rag before turning to his friend, "Jake, I told you I have plans tonight!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're going to hang out with the rich boy at his mansion, I know, I know, but come on man! You know opportunities like this don't come around all the time. We can bring in a lot of dough if we do this right," Jake nudged him.

Jon shook his head, "And I'm sure what we're transporting will be completely above board!"

Jake rolled his eyes, "Does it matter? For that kind of money they can smuggle whatever they want. Do you know what we can do with that kind of cash? We can get the hell out of this place for one."

"And if I don't want to get out?" Jon asked.

Jake just glared at him, "With that kind of money your mother can retire anywhere in the world she wants to and you and I can find us some honeys on some beach somewhere and never look back."

"No!" Jon turned back around, ready to get back to work, but was stopped by his friend's fierce grip on his shoulder.

"What do you think is going to happen next year when your boy graduates? Do you really think your little "friendship" is going to bring him back here? Hell no! He's going to take the first job offer that comes his way out of state and find himself some nice rich girl to marry and you'll probably never see him again. Isn't it time you started making plans for your own future instead of freeloading on his?" Jake sneered before stalking out of the garage.

Stung, Jon punched the wall next to the car he was working on. 

...

Colby stared at Jon in disbelief, "No, no, absolutely not! Are you fucking crazy?"

Jon had showed up for dinner right on time, pulling Colby into his arms for a fierce hug before pulling away with a wide grin and thumping him enthusiastically on the back.

He'd sat through dinner, making nice with Stephanie and jabbing Hunter at every turn with a wide grin. His dad still didn't like their friendship, but he'd long given up on trying to separate the boys, choosing to tolerate Jon's presence and pray that his son's other friendships would make up for his lack of judgement where Jon was concerned.

Afterwards, Colby had pulled him up to his room where they'd settled on the floor to play video games as they caught up on everything that had been happening during their time apart.

It was then that Jon had shared Jake's offer, telling him that if he left now he could still hook up with him and do this job that could finally give him some financial stability.

Now perched on the end of Colby's bed, Jon watched as his friend paced in front of him, shaking his head, "Fuck Jon, you could end up in jail or worse, dead! Do you know what that would do to your mom, hell, what it would do to me?!"

"Jake said...," Jon began before being cut off. 

"Jake, Jake? Nothing he says is reliable! You know this Jon; use your fucking head!"

"I am!" Jon roared, jumping to his feet and getting up in Colby's face. "My head is telling me that I'm going nowhere. I'm stuck in this shit town with a shit job and in ten years I'll be right where my mom is, still struggling to pay the bills and put food on the table!"

"You're not your mom Jon! She had a raw deal, no question about it, but you've got something she didn't have, a way to get yourself out of the cycle you're trying to avoid. You've got so much talent, but you choose to waste it. You convinced me to get out and chase my dream, why the hell aren't you chasing yours?" Colby asked earnestly, not intimidated by his friend's anger in the least.

Jon scoffed, "What, take photos for the rest of my life? Do you know how many photographers there are out there and how many actually ever amount to anything? Who is going to take a second look at something some kid from some hick town in Iowa made?"

"The same people who you think are going to read what I have to say! Dammit Jon, if your own advice is good enough for me, why isn't it good enough for you?" Colby snapped.

Jon's eyes flashed back at him, "Because I'm not you! I wasn't handed everything on a silver platter! If your dreams fail you know you can come back crawling to daddy Hunter and he'll give you a top position at his company. He'll set you up with all of the right people and it will be like you never even left! If I fail I end up in the gutter right where my dad probably still is!"

Voice softening, Colby reached out to grab his shoulder, "Jon...," he began.

Jon shook his head, "I'm not you," he repeated softly, turning around to grab his jacket, but before he could leave the room, Colby was pushing him up against the door, reaching up to force his chin up so he'd have to look right back at him.

When he was sure Jon was paying attention, Colby shared, "That's right, you're not! You're your own person. You're amazing Jon! You're smart and funny and the best friend I've ever had. Jake, Jake's an asshole! Let him ruin his life if he wants, but don't let him take you down too! I'm begging you Jon!"

"Why, why do you care so much?" Jon gasped out, heart pounding as Colby's doe-like eyes focused in on him.

It was in that moment that Colby tossed himself over the cliff. In the last three years he'd come to terms with some harsh truths about himself and one of them was about his true feelings for his friend. Although he'd vowed to never let Jon find out the truth, in the moment he couldn't deny himself anymore.

Reaching up, Colby's fingers gently traced Jon's chin before leaning forward to plant a kiss on his surprised mouth. 

In shock, Jon just stood there as Colby's lips brushed his own, Colby's tongue peeking out gently to wet Jon's lips before retreating as his lips pressed forward a bit more.

The increased pressure brought him to his senses as he realized that his friend, his MALE friend, was kissing him. Reaching up, he hit Colby in the chest, pushing him back as they stood there, chests heaving for different reasons as they stared at one another.

Colby's face was flushed red as he waited for his friend to say something, but he wasn't prepared for Jon to suddenly stride forward and turn around as he slammed him up around to rest against the door in the spot he'd just been occupying.

Gasping, he had no time to do anything before Jon's fist was meeting his mouth and jaw, blood instantly beginning to spurt out of his cracked lip as Jon roared, "What the fuck was that? Are you telling me you're a fag? Jesus fucking Christ, what the fuck made you think you could do that? Fuck!"

Slumping to the ground, Colby cradled his swollen jaw, whimpering as Jon pushed him to the side and swung the door open, rushing out of the room.

He didn't say anything when his concerned parents came to his door or when his mom began to treat his injury or when Hunter gloated about being right about that "boy" all along. 

Inside he was numb as he realized that he'd risked everything and ended up with nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Age 24** :

"Lopez!"

Colby looked up from his computer screen to find his boss standing in the doorway of his office.

"Yes sir?" he responded.

"Do you have that manuscript ready for me?"

Colby nodded as he jumped up and grabbed the folder from under a pile of papers before walking it over to him and handing it over. He grinned as his boss thanked him for his quick turnaround. 

He'd been working for one of the biggest publishing houses in New York for a couple of years now as a copywriter. He'd secured the job after a successful internship during his final year of college. 

It wasn't exactly the type of work he'd imagined as a writer, but it was paying the bills and he'd found he had a talent at finding the most obscure textural problems and he'd quickly gained a positive reputation within the company.

It was that reputation that had prompted Colby to come up with a pen name as he continued to work on the novel that had been brewing inside of his head for years. 

He may not have wanted to go into business with his father, but Hunter's words still had made a impression on him and he could hear his father in his head telling him to keep the business side of his writing away from the more pleasurable side.

Last year when he'd secured a agent for himself, he'd chosen to use the name Seth Rollins and had set himself up a bank account and mailbox under the name for any future financial transactions that he'd hopefully be engaging in if the book ended up actually making him some money. 

He was still unsure if anyone else would find it interesting, but the previous evening he'd wrapped up his final draft and he was as happy as he could be with it. Now it was up to the world whether it would be received well or if he was going to forever be stuck on the other end of the business.

Reaching into his wallet, he pulled out the fake I.D. he'd been carrying around for years, a token of the friendship he still treasured and ached for. 

It had been a long three years since he'd seen Jon, though they occasionally talked on the phone, filling the time with awkward attempts at catching one another up on their lives. His best friend had become a relative stranger to him and he had no one to blame but himself. 

If he could go back three years and change things he would. He'd gladly go back to the way things were before he'd tried to force their friendship into another realm that Jon wasn't ready for or willing to go.

Sighing, Colby stuffed the ID back inside. The funny thing was that he'd never even used the damn thing! Only Jon had been dumb enough to go out and attempt to use his, succeeding on a couple of attempts, but also getting thrown out and banned from a number of area clubs and bars.

He and Jon had laughed for hours over the ridiculous pictures that his friend had used for both of them and about the names on them: Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. He still wasn't sure what had made him turn to the name when he'd been looking for a way to keep his writing anonymous, but here he was. 

Shaking his head, Colby finished up what he was working on and headed out for the evening. He had a date with his boyfriend and Finn wasn't one to tolerate tardiness. 

...

Jon hit his fist into the wall of the cell he'd spent the night in. Apparently he'd gotten into another bar fight last night, though for the life of him he couldn't remember a thing, which probably had something to do with the Jager bombs he'd been throwing back all night.

He had the decency to look contrite when his boss came to bail him out, promising to pay for it out of his next paycheck and that it wouldn't happen again, even though they both knew it would. 

He'd been working for Mark at his garage for years now and the older man had taken a liking to him, seeing him as a substitute for the wayward son he had no contact with.

Rolling his eyes, Mark launched into the same lecture he'd given Jon numerous times before, hoping that one of these days it would actually stick.

Mark knew that behind all of the toughness and attitude was a good guy with a big heart. He'd seen how Jon was constantly going out of his way to help people out and how he melted whenever he was around the occasional child in the garage. 

He just wished that Jon would think more carefully about who he spent his time with and use all of the energy and aggression that he had built up in a more positive way. He'd discovered Jon's photography on accident one day when he'd helped him back to his apartment after another one of his all night benders.

He'd leafed through the portfolio, impressed by how vividly he'd captured the scenery and intrigued by just how many pictures another young man popped up in, always with a wide grin on his face. It was clearly someone Jon cared a lot about, but Mark had never seen the kid in the crowd that Jon hung around with. It was just one more mystery to tack onto what Mark knew about Jon.

It was while Jon was asleep that Mark had decided to do something a bit spontaneous, taking some photos of some of his work before sending them to his friend Jeff, a artist that he'd helped get off of the streets years ago. Like Jon, he'd been a bright young man on the wrong path and now he was a inspiration to all those around him.

He wasn't really sure what he was doing, but he knew that talent like that shouldn't remain undiscovered and he was sure that Jeff would know what to do with them.

Now looking at Jon, Mark tried to figure out how to best approach him with the news that he'd just gotten. Jeff had shared Jon's work with a photographer friend of his and he was interested in having him do a show in his studio. 

Sighing, Mark proceeded to share what he'd done.

...

Two months later, Colby was on pins and needles as he waited for the final numbers from the first week of his book sales. His agent had done a great job providing publicity for his first effort and between the videos, commercials and print ads, he had high hopes.

Fidgeting, he pulled out his phone and began to surf through posts on his social media sites, hoping to get his mind off of his book for awhile. 

It was as he swiped up that his eyes caught on a invite for a art show near his hometown featuring what promised to be a up and coming local artist. 

Although he often found himself reading news articles trying to catch up on what was going on back "home," this time it wasn't the art show itself that caught his attention, but rather the name of the artist.

"Fuck!" Colby gasped as his phone fell to the floor below.

...

Jon paced around inside the office that looked out onto the floor below. He had no interest in going down and chatting with the people there to see his show and although Jeff hadn't liked it, he'd agreed to let him remain anonymous. 

He'd been furious when Mark had told him what he'd done, but there had been a small part of him that was thrilled at the chance to follow his dream; to have a chance at actually making something of himself. 

Still, he'd been afraid to take the step, begging Jeff to display his photos without a name, but Jeff had insisted that wasn't possible. Still, in the end he'd given in and agreed to let him come up with a alias.

Jeff and Mark had suggested a number of ridiculous names that Jon had shot down and then they'd laughed at all of the names he'd thrown out. It wasn't until he'd snapped out "Dean Ambrose" that they'd shut up and stared at him in surprise, both nodding their agreement.

He'd failed to tell them that he hadn't just drawn the name out of thin air. He sure as hell didn't know what possessed him to choose the name he'd been given on his fake I.D. and he didn't want to have to try to explain it when he couldn't even understand it himself. 

As the evening progressed and the crowd continued to roll in, he found some of his nerves leaving him. Maybe this hadn't been such a mistake after all. Maybe Mark was right and this one thing would finally work out for him. 

Focusing back in on the front door, he was shocked as he watched the man he'd thought he'd never see again walk in. Colby, fucking Colby, had come, apparently recognizing Jon's lame attempt at concealing his identity.

As Jon watched him move around, checking his work out, he held his breath, shaking as Colby paused in front of the one photo that Jon was most worried about him seeing: one of Colby staring out into their view from the school's roof. 

He'd captured him in a unguarded moment as the sun set behind him and it was one of his favorite photos. He'd been hesitant about including any of the photos he'd taken of his friend, but Jeff had told him that it would be a shame to leave out what was essentially the heart and bulk of his work. 

Jeff had been disappointed when he'd only agreed to include one and now he was afraid that the decision to even give in that much had been a giant mistake. 

He'd been thinking a lot about his best friend recently. He'd been downtown heading to his favorite coffee shop when he'd seen the sign in the book store window promoting some new releases and he'd been stunned to see one by a "Seth Rollins."

Like Colby, he'd immediately known it was him and had eagerly gone inside, giving up on his coffee and choosing to spend the money on his friend's novel instead, hurrying back to his tiny apartment where he'd holed up for the weekend, unable and unwilling to put the book down.

He'd blown off his friends and his girlfriend Renee, who'd blown a gasket, accusing him of cheating on her. He knew he should have gone after her, but he was too caught up in the story to really give a shit.

When he'd finally turned the last page, he'd turned back to the start of the novel, re-reading the dedication: _To Jon: Your encouragement and your friendship led me to this point. Thanks for always believing in my dream even when I didn't!_

Laying the book against his chest, he began to smile for the first time in what felt like forever. Maybe he hadn't completely screwed up after all!

Now watching as his friend began to smile below him, he pressed his hand up against the tinted glass he was peering through, as if he could reach out and touch him.

As if sensing him, Colby suddenly looked up, his eyes squinting as he appeared to look right at him.

Heart pounding, Jon took a step back. Surely there was no way Colby could know he was up here, but as he scooted forward again to look down, he saw his friend moving towards the stairs and beginning to ascend. 

Unsure whether to move to lock up the office or not, Jon stood there frozen in place until he heard footsteps and his friend's voice ringing out, "Hello? Is there anyone up here?"

Jon trembled as he suddenly heard more footsteps coming up the stairs and Jeff's voice explaining to his friend that this area was private and that if he was interested in making a purchase he would take care of that for him.

As footsteps descended, Jon found himself sinking to the floor, hating himself for being such a coward.

...

Ever since he'd seen the ad for his friend's exhibit, Colby had been debating with himself about whether to go or not. Would Jon want to see him? Hell, would Jon even be there? 

He knew his friend wasn't big on public gatherings and by using the name Dean, he obviously wasn't interested in public interviews.

The day before, he'd finally just given in and hopped on the flight back home. His parents had been thrilled to see him and even his father seemed to be proud of how well his novel was doing.

He'd been nervous as hell walking into the gallery, but the second he'd been greeted with Jon's work, all he could feel was a sense of pride. Finally Jon was going to be recognized for the unbelievable talent he had.

Seeing his own photo staring back at him had knocked the breath out of him. He'd never imagined that Jon would want to display anything associated with him and he was blown away by the emotion rolling off of the image.

He'd never seen himself as anything special, but here was evidence to the contrary. If Jon had been able to capture him in this way, why had he pushed him away? He guessed he'd never really know the answer.

As he stood there, he felt a prickle of unease roll up his spine, causing him to look up at what appeared to be a office of some kind above the gallery floor. 

Still feeling as if he was being watched, he found himself moving towards the stairs without even thinking about it. He'd made it all the way up when he was stopped by who he assumed was the gallery owner who took him downstairs and sold him the photo, commenting on how much he looked like the young boy in the photo, making Colby squirm uncomfortably.

As soon as he could, he escaped with the photo, loading it into his rental car and beginning to drive back to his parent's house. As he passed the high school, he found himself pulling off, looking around before sneaking up onto the roof, stretching out as he looked up at the stars and let himself relive some of the best moments of his life.

Maybe coming here had been a good idea. Maybe now he could finally let go of all of this, let go of the torch he still carried for his best friend.

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice ringing out behind him, "Colbs, you up here?"

...

Jeff had come upstairs after, telling him that he'd practically already sold out of his stock of photos, but Jon couldn't even find it in him to be happy about it.

Once again he'd let his own happiness walk out the door because he was scared of it, scared of letting his friend get too close, scared that he'd lose him in the end and scared of how he would be looked at if he tried to pursue anything with him.

He'd ignored Jeff when he'd commented that a man had come in who looked suspiciously like the boy in his photos, but he had thanked his new friend for setting everything up and promised to give him a call the next day so they could talk about where Jon or "Dean" would go from here.

Leaving, he debated on whether or not to head out to the bar where he knew Jake and the others were hanging out. He wasn't surprised that none of his friends had bothered to come support him. 

They'd laughed at him when he'd mentioned it, telling him that he should stick to the garage because if he thought he was going to become some big star with a bunch of photos he was obviously delusional. Even Renee hadn't shown up, still ticked off at him for being so distracted lately.

As he drove down the street, he passed the high school and wasn't surprised to see a car in the lot. Closing his eyes as he shivered, he made a quick decision, swerving into the lot and parking beside the other car, sure that he knew whose it was.

He headed up to the roof, a place that he still found himself returning to again and again for some alone time. As he hit the top, he took a deep breath and called out for his friend, relieved when he answered.

"Yeah Jon, I'm here."

Striding over to him slowly, Jon watched as Colby sat up, his back still to him as he asked, "What brings you here?"

Jon shuffled his feet awkwardly, "I, I saw ya at the opening," he muttered.

"You were there!" Colby suddenly shot to his feet, turning around to shout at him, but as his eyes met those of his friends, his words died off.

It was Jon who finally broke the silence, "Sorry, I wasn't sure if you'd want to talk to me. Thanks for coming and for buying something."

"Of course, I wanted to support you in any way I could," Colby shared.

"Why?" Jon asked in disbelief.

Colby scoffed at him, "Because you're my friend and your talent deserves to be recognized!"

Jon blinked at him, "Wow, even after, well, you know! I didn't think you'd even care."

"Did you stop caring about me just because we stopped talking for awhile? Did you stop wanting me to be a writer?" Colby asked.

Jon shook his head, "No, I bought your book, it's amazing!"

Colby froze, a shy grin appearing on his face, "You did?"

Jon nodded, "Did you mean what you said?" he whispered.

Colby nodded, "That book, it's all due to you."

"Th-thanks! I should also thank you for encouraging my photography. Tonight would never have happened if you hadn't kept pushing me," Jon shared. 

"It's good to see you," Colby stated, awkwardly moving forward and giving him a quick hug.

As Colby drew back, Jon found himself holding on tightly, "Don't go!" he begged.

Colby stared at him in confusion, "I wasn't planning on it. Would you want to maybe go get a late dinner somewhere? We could catch up and you can tell me how this opening came together."

Shaking his head, Jon drew on every spark of courage he had in his body as he reached up and drew Colby's lips down to his own, the kiss being one-sided as Colby stood there in shock.

Pulling back, Jon lay his forehead against his own, "Don't go!" he said again.

"J-J-Jon, what are you doing?" Colby asked shakily.

"What I should have done three years ago!" Jon drew him back in for another kiss, his lips pressing against his own until he felt Colby finally begin to respond, opening up to him with a sigh as Jon's tongue reached out and began to explore, tangling with Colby's own.

They weren't sure how much time passed as they dropped to the floor and made out with abandon, only stopping for a quick breath as they moved back to one another again and again.

All Jon knew that was that it was much later when he was finally focused enough to realize just what was going on. They'd moved to lay down, still clinging tightly to one another as they stared up at the view they'd been appreciating since childhood.

He didn't know what was going to happen from here or even what he wanted to happen, but he knew that he couldn't let his friend walk away again, no matter how much better off he thought he'd be. 

A part of Jon had died that night and here in Colby's arms he'd found it once again and he didn't think he was strong enough to let it go.


	9. Chapter 9

**Age 27** :

Colby squirmed as he stared at himself in the mirror, pulling at the collar to his shirt nervously. 

He hadn't felt this way since the first time he came out to his parents and that had been such a disaster that he didn't think he was ready to do it all over again. 

He shivered as he remembered the looks on their faces when he'd told them that he was gay. He'd just graduated and had been spending some time at home before he'd started his job in New York in the Fall.

He'd known that if he was ever going to come clean with them, that it needed to be now and he'd worked himself up to doing it, explaining that he'd never really been attracted to girls the way his friends were and that when a boy at school had kissed him one night, he'd realized why.

He went on to tell them that he'd dated a couple of other boys briefly and that he knew that this was who he was and that he was proud of that fact.

He hadn't expected them to jump for joy, but he'd been surprised by just how badly they had taken it. His mother had cried, becoming unresponsive as his father had exploded on him, sharing that no son of his was going to be "that way".

It had been the muttered, "I should have known when I first saw you at the orphanage!" that had thrown Colby's world into chaos. 

Hunter's face had gone white as he realized just what he'd just said and he'd immediately tried to backtrack, but it was too late: the damage had already been done.

They'd had to set him down and explain to him that he'd been adopted. They had no information on his father who had apparently abandoned him and his mother before his birth, but his mother Rosa Lopez had done her best to provide for him on her own since she was estranged from her own family.

According to Stephanie, she'd battled breast cancer for a year before she'd finally succumbed to the disease, leaving Colby alone and without any family of his own. That was when his parents had entered the picture, unable to have children of their own.

They'd brought Colby into their home when he was just turning 2 and they'd decided then and there that he'd never know that they weren't his biological parents. They'd gone on to tell him that they'd never regretted making him their own for even a single second.

Staring doubtfully at his father, Colby had been surprised to see tears in Hunter's eyes, the first time his father had ever shown any type of outward emotion.

"I'm proud of you son. I may not say it, but I am. What I said earlier, I didn't mean it, I was just shocked. I'm not saying that I'm happy about all of this, but I am proud of you for coming to us and being honest about it. I'm not saying that I'm ever going to be comfortable with it, but I'm willing to try. You are my son Colby, make no mistake about that!"

The words had soothed some of the hurt and shock that Colby had been feeling, but the whole incident had left a bad taste in his mouth and had sent him spiraling for a bit as he'd tried to figure out just who he really was.

Eventually, it had been Stephanie who had made things better. She'd done some digging and provided Colby with more information on his mother and she'd been by his side when he'd decided to legally change his name to Colby Lopez-Helmsley. 

It had been a way for him to honor the parent he'd lost and a way to connect to his heritage. Later, he'd begun to use Lopez as his last name for his business-related activities, wanting to earn things on his own merit and not on the Helmsley name, something Hunter himself had even respected.

True to his word, Hunter had attempted to accept that his son was attracted to other men. He'd even tried to set him up on dates, still trying to have some sort of control of the situation, subtly making it clear that only a certain type of man would be considered acceptable for his son.

He'd been thrilled when he'd started dating Finn, a sweet, well-respected lawyer who came from a good family. Finn had been welcomed into his parent's home with open arms and they'd both been disappointed when he'd shared that they'd broken up a few years ago.

They'd noticed he hadn't brought anyone else around in that time and turned down any attempts at hooking him up with someone new, but Colby had remained tight-lipped on the subject so they'd given up prying.

With a sigh, Colby sat down on his childhood bed. How the hell was he supposed to tell them about Jon? His father already hated him, but this was going to take things to a whole new level!

...

Across town at work, Jon was struggling to keep his mind on the car he was working on rather than the dinner he'd be having later that evening.

He'd known for weeks that they were going to be telling Colby's parents when he came home for Thanksgiving, but it still hadn't really prepared him for the fear he was feeling.

He knew that Colby loved him, he'd more than proven that over the last three years, but he still worried that Hunter would be able to convince him to dump Jon, to toss him aside like so many had done before.

Not paying attention, he jammed his finger as he swore and backed away, shaking it as he moved, making Mark laugh behind him.

"Jon, seriously, just go home! I'm giving you the rest of the day off."

Jon shook his head, "No man, this needs to be finished and I've only got a few more days here to get it done."

"I can work on it. Go get yourself ready for tonight, maybe give your boy a call and let him calm you down. You need to stop worrying about it. It doesn't matter what they think because Colby thinks the world of you man. You two are sickeningly gaga over one another and you're moving in together in just a couple of weeks. He's making that commitment to you because that's how much he cares for you, got it?" Mark asked.

"But," Jon began.

"No buts, go!" Mark demanded, pointing at the exit, making Jon mutter at him as he took off and headed back to his apartment.

Staring at his closet, he sighed as he realized that nothing he owned was going to make him look like the type of man that Colby deserved by his side. 

He knew he'd never been concerned with impressing his parents before, but he also had never imagined having to tell them that he was gay and in love with their son either.

 _"Damn!"_ he thought to himself as he slumped down onto his bed. Three years, had it really only been three years since he'd made the scariest leap of his life?

Looking back, he realized that although it had been tough and there were plenty of moments that he could have done without, he didn't regret his decision at all. Giving into his desire for Colby had been the best thing that had ever happened to him and he'd be damned if he was going to let anyone or anything threaten that. 

Squaring his shoulders, he got up and grabbed the first thing he could find to change into. Colby was his and that wasn't going to change!

...

"So Jon, Colby tells us that your photography has really been taking off," Stephanie smiled at him.

Jon shrugged, "That's what they tell me."

"Have you thought about quitting your job at the garage and pursuing it full-time?" Hunter asked. "I bet there are plenty of states where your talent would be highly regarded. Maybe California?"

"Or New York?" Jon returned with a smirk as he saw Hunter flinch at the idea. Jon wasn't a idiot and that he figured if he could get Jon to move across the country that Colby and he would never see each other again with their lives on two different coasts.

Breaking the silence, Colby turned to his mother, "Thanks so much for dinner mom, it's great."

Stephanie smiled at him, "It's no problem, I'm just glad Jon could join us. I was just talking to your mother the other day Jon and we are both so thrilled that you boys have managed to regain your friendship and stay in touch."

Jon nodded, "Yeah, she was happy to hear from you."

Sitting back, Hunter stretched his arms out as he sat forward and his eyes pierced his son's, "So Colby, you want to tell us what this whole dinner is really all about? You weren't supposed to be home until Thursday for the holiday, but here you are almost a week early. You've been squirming in your seat all night and I can see that there's something on your mind."

Stephanie glared at him in disapproval, but Hunter ignored her, still staring at his son, who flinched and looked down as he mumbled, "T-there was s-something that I wanted to speak to you about."

"Go on," Hunter urged.

Reaching under the table, Jon grabbed Colby's hand giving it a squeeze, which gave him the encouragement that he needed to go forward with telling them, "Well, I wanted to tell you that I've been seeing someone for awhile and we're going to be moving in together."

"Oh honey, I wish you would have introduced us sooner, but I'm happy for you!" Stephanie exclaimed. "When can we meet him?"

"That's just it, you've already met, quite a few times actually," Colby stated nervously.

Stephanie's eyes lit up, "Oh, is it that nice Dolph? I always thought he was a little too impressed with his own looks and you two were always so close!"

Colby's eyes widened as Jon spit out the water he had just taken a drink of, coughing as Colby smacked his back.

Across from them, Hunter was watching with a weird expression on his face, slowly piecing things together. 

He'd known that Colby and Jon had made up on a trip he'd made back here a few years ago, but Jon hadn't come around much when Colby had been here since then. In fact, he couldn't remember Jon's name crossing across Colby's lips much over the last few years. 

Watching as Colby ran his hands soothingly over Jon's back and the way Jon leaned into the comfort, it was clear that something had changed between the pair, something that Hunter didn't think he was ready to see or know.

Shaking his head, Hunter stood up, "Excuse me, I need to go make some calls."

Staring up at him in shock, Colby stood up as well, "No dad, I need to tell you something, can you please sit down?"

Hunter shook his head again, "Colby, son, I don't want to hear it!"

Finally having got over his initial anxiety over the issue, Colby wasn't ready to back down now as he pointed back at his father's seat, "Sit!" he demanded.

Sighing, Hunter found himself following the instruction as he slumped back down.

Turning back to his mom, Colby addressed her, "No mom, I'm not seeing Dolph now or ever! Dolph is straight and happily married to his wife A.J., which I know you know because she attends the country club on a regular basis. I'm with Jon. He's my boyfriend and he's moving to New York with me after the new year."

Jon's eyes dropped to the table as he stared at the pattern in the tablecloth, unwilling to see the disgust in the eyes of his boyfriend's parents.

Thus, he was surprised when he heard Stephanie give a squeal and then come around the table, throwing her arms around him, "Oh my god, that's so sweet!" she shouted.

Jon stared up at her in shock while Hunter looked at her like she'd lost her mind and Colby just stared in surprise.

"Uh," Jon started uncomfortably, but she cut him off.

"Have you told Trish yet? She's going to be as happy as I am. This is the greatest thing ever! You two were always so sweet together, but I never would have imagined that you'd actually end up falling in love with one another!" she stopped as she thought about it, frowning as she turned to Colby, "You are in love, right?"

Colby's shining eyes met Jon's own as he smiled and stated, "Yeah, yeah we are mom."

She clapped her hands in excitement, "Oh, we're going to have to get together and help you guys furnish your new place! I already know you're going to need a woman's touch!"

She continued to babble as she sat back down, but Colby's eyes were glued to his father, "Dad?" he asked.

Hunter shrugged, "What do you want me to say? You're just going to do what you want anyways; you always have. I guess I shouldn't be surprised because I never could get you away from him. You two followed around one another like lovesick puppies so I guess this makes sense," he gestured rudely at the pair, making Jon's back straighten, but Colby was smiling. He'd been expecting a much worse reaction.

"I know I'm not your idea of a suitable partner for your son Hunter, but I love Colby. I am always going to be there for him and I'm always going to be grateful to him for giving me a chance to be with him. I tried pushing him away once, but all that did was hurt us both in the long run and I refuse to do that again. So it doesn't matter if it's you or our friends or some random person on the street that I need to fight to keep him, I will!" Jon declared, glaring at him.

Glaring right back at him, Hunter shared, "I'm not saying that I ever would have chosen you to be by my son's side, but if you've proven nothing else over the years it's that you're loyal to him. How about I stay out of your way and you stay out of mine? Just take care of my son and we won't have a problem!"

Jon nodded, "Sounds reasonable."

Standing up, Colby moved around the table to give his uncomfortable dad a hug, "I love you dad," he whispered, wanting him to know that even that small show of support was enough for him.

Patting his back quickly, Hunter snapped, "Same here, now didn't we have some type of dessert hun?" he asked Stephanie, putting a end to the talk as Colby rejoined his place next to his still shocked boyfriend.

...

"Are you really sure about this?" Jon asked again as he lay on Colby's chest on the bed in his apartment. They'd come here after dinner, happy to not have to hide the fact that Colby was going to be spending the night with him any longer.

Colby groaned, "We're not doing this again Jon! I love you, I want you with me and no, I don't mind sharing my space with you!"

"I know, but..."

Colby's hand moved to cover his mouth, "No buts! I let you talk me into a long-distance relationship for the last three years and I know that wasn't because you weren't ready, but rather you didn't think you were good enough for me. I'd hoped by now you would have gotten over that, but here we still are. Jon, my parents have accepted us and I already know that your mother is not going to give a damn, in fact judging by the way she acts around me now, I think she already knows! Dolph and Mark and Jeff have been nothing but supportive of us so there's no more excuses! I'm sorry you had to lose your other friends, but I'm not sorry that at the end of all of this that I get you, alright? If you don't want this, I mean really don't want this, then you need to say so now!"

Jon nodded, mumbling around his hand, making Colby to release him, "What was that?" he asked.

Jon shrugged, "I said you're right, there's nothing stopping us now. And for the record, losing Jake and the others wasn't much of a hardship. They were never there for me anyways and Renee was just a distraction from what or rather who I really wanted. I love you Colbs and don't you forget it! I just wanted to give you one last chance to back out."

Colby glared at him, "Jon!"

This time it was Jon who shut him up as he sat up, leaning down so he could meet Colby's lips with his own, taking away any further discussion on the topic for awhile.

It was a quite a bit later when they came up for air, Jon having shown Colby just how much he appreciated his invitation to live with him. Although he'd long grown comfortable with making love to him, he still hadn't been able to cross that last barrier and let Colby return the favor. 

Laying back down into his arms, Jon thought that maybe he was ready to take that final step. He wanted to feel what Colby felt when he slid inside of him and he wanted their relationship to be a equal partnership, but he was thinking he'd save that for a moving in surprise.

Closing his eyes, he grinned to himself, they were really doing this!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. Wrote the chapter and wasn't happy with the way it turned out. Scrapped it and started over and hopefully this is a more satisfying ending. Hope you enjoy!

**Age 30:**

"Mr. Lopez, is it true that you are the writer behind the Matt Heart mystery series?" the reporter asked as the man next to him stuck his camera even closer into Colby's surprised face.

Over the last three years, he'd written a number of successful sequels to his first book that had spawned a whole line of merchandise. However, in spite of the increased popularity of his books, he'd chosen to continue to remain out of the public spotlight as he continued to write them under the Seth Rollins name.

Still in shock, he was unable to form any type of response as he forced his way through the crowd in front of his office building and stepped inside the car waiting to take him back to his penthouse apartment in the city.

With the window rolled up so he didn't have to interact with his driver, Colby began to laugh desperately to himself. If he'd just given in six months ago, none of this would be happening right now and he wouldn't be without his strongest support system.

Now, here he was exposed for all to see and without his best friend and lover by his side. Life had a funny way of paying you back, that's for sure!

...

The last three years had flown by giving Colby some of the best moments of his life, or at least he'd thought so before Jon pulled the wool off of his eyes.

The transition of Jon's move into Colby's modest apartment and life had seemed seamless. They'd already seen each other at their worst and knew one another's most annoying habits.

After three years of having to savor the few moments they were able to spend together, the idea of being together morning, noon and night had seemed amazing. 

Colby had taken some time off from work to help Jon get settled and they'd spent the time christening every room of the house, Jon taking him on every available surface before finally offering up his own body in their bedroom for the first time.

He'd known just how much that really meant and he treasured that Jon trusted him that much. 

Jeff had hooked Jon up with a art studio in New York after gaining their promise to help him remain anonymous and they'd begun to showcase the Dean Ambrose works.

Both Mark and Jeff had made a few trips out to support Jon's show and to visit with them and Jon had seemed to be enjoying his new life.

Not too long after that, Colby had been promoted at work and with his new responsibilities at the publishing firm, he'd spent more and more time at the office and less and less time at home. 

When he was at home, he was often furiously trying to work on his latest book rushing against a deadline over and over again. 

He tried to set aside time for him and Jon and they'd set up a weekly date night that he'd only had to break a couple of times. Jon had been supportive, but looking back it had been obvious that he was uncomfortable with the lack of time they were spending together.

It wasn't until after Jon had walked out that he really sat down and thought about the fact that Jon had been thrown into a new city with no friends and nothing outside of his photography. 

He spent most of his days out exploring his new city by himself, capturing unguarded moments and beautiful city landscapes, but with no one to really share it with.

Meanwhile, Colby's increase in income had allowed them to move into the penthouse of one of the most affluent buildings in the city, something that Hunter had been extremely proud of, bragging to all of his friends.

Caught up in the glamour, Colby had allowed himself to be drawn into a never ending circle of social gatherings and parties that Jon had begrudgingly sat through.

In Colby's mind everything was great, he had a amazing boyfriend, two successful jobs and a great group of friends.

Then Colby had been forced to go on a business trip during Jon's birthday weekend, which was supposed to have meant a trip back home to Iowa to visit with their family and friends, something Jon had really been looking forward to.

They'd had a huge fight that culminated with him screaming at Jon about how if they wanted to keep living the life they were now that he couldn't do anything to jeopardize his position in the company.

That was when Jon had finally unloaded on him, sharing that he didn't give a fuck about their lifestyle, that he just wanted things to go back to the way they were; wanted the real Colby back.

He'd told him that he was tired of all of the secrecy and wanted to come out as Dean Ambrose and was hoping Colby would want to do the same. That maybe Colby would want to turn all of his attention to his writing career and maybe they could finally collaborate together like they'd always dreamed about.

Colby had stared at him in disbelief, sure that he'd lost his mind. Why should they change what was working and rock the boat?

He had a good thing going with his legitimate public business and his side hobby with his books and he thought that Jon had approved of that.

They hadn't resolved the argument before he'd had to leave, but while he was on his trip, he thought a lot about what Jon had said to him and he believed that he'd figured out what all of this had really been about and he'd happily gone out to the local jewelry store to pick up what he thought would solve all of their problems.

That Sunday, he'd flown home to find that Jon wasn't at home to greet him, but rather than being angry, he'd been grateful for a little time to put his plan into action.

He'd cooked Jon's favorite dinner and set up some candles and music along with the flowers he'd picked up for him on the way home.

By the time Jon had come home, everything was set. He'd been surprised and seemed genuinely touched by the gesture, sure that he'd finally been heard by Colby.

Sitting down, they'd talked about things of no consequence before Colby had reached across the table to take Jon's hands in his own, "Jon, you know that I love you, that I've always loved you since that first moment on the playground. I know that I've been distracted lately, too caught up in work and stuff that doesn't really matter, but I just want to let you know that you are the most important person to me."

Dropping to his knees, he popped open the box in his hand, holding the ring he'd purchased out to his boyfriend, "Babe, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, please Jon, marry me!"

Jon's eyes flashed as his boyfriend dropped in front of him, but it wasn't in a good way. Opening his mouth in shock, he muttered, "No, no, no!"

Rising to his feet, he shook his head, "You just don't get it do you? This, all of this, it isn't what I want!" he gestured around the apartment. "I want my best friend, the man I fell in love with back. Not this snooty, rich version of him. You never cared about money or status, not the way Hunter did at least. It never mattered to you that I didn't come from money the way you did. Hell, it didn't matter to you when it came to anyone. You had the widest variety of friends that I'd ever seen! You used to come hang at the garage with the guys and no one would ever know that you grew up the way that you did. Baby, none of this is you! You don't need that prestigious job or those friends who don't give a shit about you! We can go back to Iowa or we can move somewhere else, it doesn't matter as long as we're together and living the life that we always talked about, just you me and our dream."

Stunned and embarrassed, Colby had flown to his feet, reaching out to give his lover a push as he unloaded on him, "What the fuck Jon! I spent all of my trip worried about you, wondering how I could fix this and now you're telling me that you don't want to even try. You expect me to walk away from everything, give it all up just because you suddenly decided that you're what, bored? Then fucking get another job, hell come out as Dean Ambrose if that's really what you want, but leave me the fuck out of it! I thought you wanted to be with me, thought you wanted the same things that I did, now you're telling me that you don't want to be my husband, don't want to start a family with me," Colby's voice trailed off miserably.

Smiling sadly at him, Jon shook his head, "That's not what I'm telling you at all. I would be proud to be your husband. I admit it took me a long time to get to this point, but I'm here now. I'm not ashamed of what we have and I want it with all of my heart, but not at the expense of myself. I'd rather be alone than be with a shell of the man I love. When you find that man, you come see me, alright?"

Colby watched in silence as Jon turned to leave, pausing in the doorway as he shared, "I'll stay at a hotel tonight and I'll come get my stuff tomorrow while you're at work. I'll be going home after that so you know where to find me. I do love you Colbs, I just pray you realize that before it's too late!"

Colby had glared at him, spending the night fuming, expecting Jon to return the next day and apologize for flying off the handle for no reason.

Instead, he'd woken up alone and gone to work only to return to find all of Jon's possessions gone, as if they'd never been there. 

The only thing left of him was the framed photographs of the two of them together spread out throughout the apartment. 

Grabbing the nearest one to him, a picture from their last Christmas together, he tossed it across the room, the satisfying shattering of the glass helping him let out some of his frustration.

It wasn't until later, after he'd gone through a bottle of jack and had somehow stumbled his way to bed, that he let what had happened really sink in. 

Looking across at the wall above the tv in their room, he stared, enthralled by the photo lovingly placed in the center view, the photo he'd purchased all those years ago of himself looking out from the school roof.

That photo had finally given him everything he'd ever wished for: Jon's love, confirmation that there was someone out there who believed Colby was worth it and finally, acknowledgement of Jon's awesome talent.

As he stared at it, he let himself finally acknowledge what Jon had been trying to tell him. He'd ignored his boyfriend's pain, pushed him away when he should have been pulling him closer and had tried to buy his love back with a engagement ring.

Now he was alone in the penthouse that he'd worked so hard for, but really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

...

Colby sighed as he ran a hand across his face. He'd spoken to Jon on the phone a couple of months after their split and he'd tried to apologize, but he didn't blame Jon for not believing him. 

If he'd been smart he would have walked away from everything and chased after him, but instead he'd waited too long and it was clear that Jon had no use for him any longer. 

He'd been surprised when both his mother and father had told him they were disappointed in him. He'd known his mother was fond of Jon, but somewhere along the line Hunter had accepted Jon into the family, secure in the knowledge that the man would do anything for his son.

He'd admonished Colby for putting work before family, sharing that although he'd always been passionate about his work, he'd always made time for his wife and son. 

If that wasn't enough of a slap in the face, he'd then heard from Dolph that Jeff had apparently set Jon up with a artist friend of his who had been encouraging him to step forward publically, something that Jon wasn't sure he wanted to do without Colby by his side.

In retaliation, Colby had looked up his ex Finn and re-connected with him, eagerly getting together for dinner only to find out that Finn was now happily married to a man named Sami he had met at his local gym.

He'd seemed genuinely happy to see Colby and had wanted to pursue a friendship with him, something that Colby was grateful for because after Jon had left, he'd begun to take a closer look at those he'd considered friends and he'd realized that Jon was right. 

None of them genuinely cared about him, they'd all told him they were sorry about his breakup, but none of them had reached out to him or attempted to provide any sort of comfort.

Reaching out to buzz his driver, he asked him to reroute to Finn's house as he sent his friend a text that was immediately responded to as he told him to come on over that he and Sami would have a hot meal waiting for him and two ears to listen.

...

A couple of days later, Colby's agent had set up a news conference where he would publically acknowledge that he was Seth Rollins for the first time and Colby was nervously pacing backstage. 

As his agent told him it was time, Colby took a deep breath and squared his shoulders before making his way to the stage, flashbulbs already going off before he made it to the stage where his agent and a number of people from the publishing house were already seated.

He tapped the mic in front of him nervously as his agent opened up the floor to questions.

"Mr. Lopez, have you come here today to admit to the truth, that you are best selling author Seth Rollins?"

Before Colby could respond, another chair was suddenly being pushed in next to him and a body that he would know anywhere pushing in next to him as Jon's gruff voice rang out through the room, "That's exactly why he's here!"

Grinning over at him, Jon nudged him as he shared, "The truth is that my fiancé and I have been talking about coming forward for awhile, but unfortunately, the truth got out before we could."

Colby's eyes widened at Jon's use of the word fiancé. What the hell was he doing here?

As if in answer to his thoughts, one of the reporters stood up to ask, "I'm sorry sir, but who are you and what relevance do you have to all of this?"

Eyes flashing playfully at him, Jon leaned back to stretch casually before leaning forward to state, "My name is Jon Good and Colby Lopez is my fiancé. We grew up together back in Iowa and we've been together for the last six years. I said we've been talking about coming forward because he's not the only one who has been living behind a alias when it comes to his work. I'm actually the photographer Dean Ambrose."

"I'm not sure I understand," the reporter shared. "Why did you decide to invent aliases?"

Jon looked over at Colby, giving him a chance to stop him, but when he just nodded at him, he leaned back over to respond, "The truth is that although I've always loved photography, it wasn't something that I ever imagined myself actually doing as a career. Let's just say that I hid a lot of things about myself because of some misguided sense of manliness and insecurity. As for Colby, he started out writing under a alias because he didn't want to jeopardize his copywriting job if his book failed. To his surprise, but not mine, the thing took off and became the series it is now, but we'd already hidden ourselves and were just starting out in our relationship. We decided to leave things the way they were."

Not content to just let Jon take all of the heat upon himself, Colby leaned over to chime in, "The truth is that Jon has wanted to come forward for awhile now, but I've been the one holding us back. I was afraid to jeopardize what I saw as a "legitimate" career, but the truth is that the Seth Rollins books are more important than that. They are my passion and I'm not ashamed of them at all. I'm proud of the world I've created and I'm just happy that so many have connected with them."

A few more questions were thrown their way, which his agent fielded before they were dismissed.

Stepping back behind the curtain, Colby turned to Jon, reaching out to squeeze his hand as he said, "Thanks, you have no idea what your support means to me."

Jon just smiled back at him, "I think I do, but you're welcome," he looked down at his phone as he pulled away from him. "My plane leaves in a hour so I better head back to the airport. I actually have a showing tonight so I can't stay."

Colby frowned, "So that's it? What was all of that about being my fiancé back there?"

Jon just smirked at him, leaning over to pull him into his arms and brushing a chaste kiss across his lips, "You should thank Finn. He's the one who let me know what was going on. I couldn't leave you hanging like that. I really wanted to hate the guy just on principle, but he seems like a good guy. He's really worried about you and he told me some things that I didn't know about, like how you've ditched most of those so-called friends of yours. It's about time!"

Colby looked down sheepishly as he tried to form his thoughts into a actual sentence, but before he could Jon was cutting him off.

"So, I've really got to go, but I figure it will take you what, a few days to wrap up things here?"

Colby just looked at him in confusion, which prompted Jon to share, "If you think about it, I'm sure you know what I mean. Anyways, I'll be waiting, you know where to find me. I love you Colbs."

With those words, he was once again walking away from him and out of his life and even though everything in him was screaming at him to stop him, Colby just stood there and watched him go.

...

It didn't even take the full three days for Colby to not only quit his job and put his apartment on the market, but also to pack up and ship everything that he wasn't planning on taking on the plane with him. 

He'd been home a hour with his thoughts when he'd put two and two together and came up with four. Jon was giving him one last chance to redeem himself and he wasn't going to squander this opportunity. 

That very night he'd spoken to his boss and resigned from his position, choosing to remain with the publishing house as just a writer, legally combining the Seth Rollins name with his own before getting in touch with a real estate agent.

The next morning he enlisted Finn and Sami to help him with packing before the movers arrived to transport his stuff.

His friends had graciously invited him to spend the night with them and he gratefully accepted.

Now he was on a plane back home to Iowa, praying that he wasn't too late.

...

It was nightfall when Colby drove himself over to the school. 

He'd arrived mid-afternoon and had been dragged into dinner with his parents, who peppered him with questions that he wasn't quite ready to answer yet.

He'd finally managed to sneak away, his mother giving him a encouraging smile as he prepared for the most important moment of his life.

As he drove, he thought about all of the little moments that had led up to this one. 

Jon's beaming smile when he'd slid his hand into his on the playground that day, all of the subsequent mischief that they'd gotten up to after, Jon's relief when he'd chosen his side over and over instead of his other friends, the hurt when Jon hadn't shown up for his reading, the fear when Jon was willing to risk his life to score some quick cash, the pain, anger and helplessness when Jon had rejected his kiss and the overriding joy and relief that day on the roof when Jon had made the first move.

Then there had been all the little firsts of their relationship before Jon had enthusiastically said yes to Colby's proposal that they move in together. Colby felt himself smiling as he thought about those first few months after the move when they'd been so happy to just be together.

He still didn't know how he had let it all get away from him. How he'd lost himself along the way, but he never wanted to see that kind of anguish on Jon's face ever again and he sure as hell didn't want to feel that level of despair again.

Pulling into the lot next to a car that he didn't recognize, he closed his eyes and prayed before stepping out and making the familiar trip up to the roof.

"Jon?" his voice echoed out into the night as the silence rang around him, making him wince.

Stepping out, he made his way to the edge, looking around to try to spot who else the mysterious car might belong to, but not seeing anyone.

With a sigh, he leaned against the barrier. Maybe he really didn't know Jon as well as he'd thought if he'd made a mistake about this. Was the universe trying to tell him something?

He tensed as the door creaked behind him. Frozen, he was afraid to turn around or even breathe.

It wasn't until the flash that he began to laugh and turned to face him, Jon's beaming face lit up as lowered his camera.

"Even better than that first view I captured," he shared.

"Yeah?" Colby asked.

Jon nodded, striding forward to crowd him back up against the barrier as he took his lips in a emphatic kiss hello.

Lips still lingering against one another, Colby whispered, "You still love me?"

"Always," Jon whispered back.

"Forgive me?" Colby pleaded.

Jon just nodded, "Already did. I told you that all I needed and wanted was the real you and that's who I see here in my arms now so everything else, all of it, is in the past and forgotten."

Colby's eyes dropped as he uncertainly asked, "What about your new man?"

Jon just laughed, reaching out to raise his face up to his own, "We had two dates. Just two and that was two too many! I don't want anyone else Colbs. I love you Colby McMahon-Helmsley, or Lopez or Seth Rollins or whatever you want to call yourself next."

Colby snuggled into his arms, laying his head onto his shoulder, "Then it's a good thing that I'm head over heels in love with you Jon Good slash Dean Ambrose."

"Yeah?" Jon teased. "Just how much do you love me?"

Pulling back with a grin, Colby once again dropped to his knees, having replaced the over-priced ring that he'd originally gotten him with a simple, much more understated silver pair of bands.

"I never want to spend another day apart from you Jon. You've been the one constant in my life since we were three years old. I treasure your love and your friendship and I promise I'll never lose sight of that again! Will you do me the honor of making this official and becoming my husband?"

Eyes lighting up at the sight of the rings, Jon just held his hand out, watching silently as Colby slid his home before rising to his feet and holding out his own.

Reaching over, Jon took the other ring from him and slid it onto Colby's hand.

Grinning at him, Jon couldn't resist asking, "Can I share the news with my new dad Hunter?" 

Giggling, Colby just nodded as Jon drew him back into his arms.

Later, they lay there in their favorite spot for stargazing, hands firmly clasped together.

Colby knew they still had a lot of things to work out, but he also knew that they would do just that. 

The fates had decided long ago that they were destined to remain in one another's lives and he knew nothing could ever separate them permanently at this point.

Closing his eyes, Colby laughed as he shared the words, ""I think we're going to be good friends Jon!"

His only answer was Jon pouncing on him with a laugh of his own as his lips pressed against his.


	11. Chapter 11

**Epilogue- Age 33:  
**

Colby rolled his eyes as Jon straightened his tie for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour. 

He knew how uncomfortable Jon was dressing up, but all he was doing was making Colby's heightened nerves even worse.

Walking over, Colby grabbed his hands as he smoothed down the sides of Jon's dress shirt, "Enough! The tie looks fine babe, I swear!"

Jon just sighed, "I hate this, everything about this!"

"I know you do, but one hour: that's all that I ask! After that you can change into something more comfortable and mingle."

"Promise?"

"Of course!" Colby leaned over, laying a kiss on his cheek. "And just remember that tomorrow we're flying out to Vegas and we have some downtime for a bit until we need to get back to work."

Jon grinned, leaning over to return the kiss, "True!" he said brightening up. "A little alone time at home with the sun, mountains and some gambling is exactly what we need."

Before Colby could respond, his agent was opening the door to the room they were waiting in and telling them it was time. 

As Colby stared out across the auditorium floor at all of the people gathered to celebrate the launch of his new book series, complete with photos courtesy of Jon, he couldn't help but silently thank the universe for the last three years.

...

Things had been a bit confusing at first with Jon renting a small apartment near the garage, where he'd taken to working again after their split and Colby staying at home with his folks while they tried to figure things out.

They'd recommitted to one another on the roof, but they had no idea how they were actually going to make it all work out.

Colby had quit his job to pursue the writing full-time, but he also knew that New York was still his best option for success. 

His agent was based there and all of the little meetings and publicity events that ran in the area were key to keeping what he'd built rolling.

Jon had offered to return with him, but Colby had seen the life drain out of his lover once and that was more than enough so they'd struggled to figure out a compromise.

In the end, Colby had found a decent apartment in downtown New York that he could stay at when he needed to be in the city to work and it had more than enough room to create a studio/office for Jon so if Colby had to be there for any length of time Jon had the option to join him.

With Mark's help, Jon had found a house in the middle between the garage and their parent's places in Iowa that he and Mark had done a few repairs on before Colby and Jon had been able to move in.

It wasn't quite what Hunter envisioned for his son, but even he had to admit that the place had its charms and it certainly seemed to make them both happy so he kept his mouth shut, while offering to help them fix it up with anything else they might need.

In actuality, all they'd ever really needed was each other, but in time they'd made the place their own with offices for them both, a gym in the basement and a huge backyard with a in-ground swimming pool and hot tub.

To Colby's amusement, Jon had installed a garden and had taken to it with a enthusiasm that had drawn the attention of the local women's club, who were constantly coming by to get his advice on their own yards.

They'd also realized their dreams of traveling as they attempted to check out any and everywhere either of them had ever thought about going, using the experiences to inspire both of their works.

It was on one of those trips that Jon had fallen in love with Vegas and how on one end it was a never ending party and on the other it was one of the most peaceful and beautiful places he'd ever been. 

It had only taken one hiking trip for Colby to realize that he loved seeing the joy on Jon's face and it hadn't taken much for him to surprise Jon on his next birthday with a house smack dab in one of Vegas' nicest neighborhoods. 

He figured with all of the different conventions always happening in the area it was a good investment in both of their careers and just a hop, skip and jump away from L.A., which would give both of them a edge on the West Coast.

Jon had been so overwhelmed by the gift, that Colby had found himself walking down the aisle at one of the all-night wedding chapels as Jon shared that he didn't want to wait anymore for their happily ever after.

Mark and Jeff had laughed when Jon had told them what he'd done, but Dolph had immediately gotten it, telling Colby he was a genius since he now had a base on both the East and West Coasts, while still having his home base in the Midwest.

He'd gone on to congratulate him on finally putting a ring on it, which had made Colby punch him, but it also made him pretty happy when he later found Dolph giving Jon a hug and thanking him for treating his best friend so well.

On the other hand, Jon's mother and Seth's parents had been furious that they'd gotten married without them, but they'd made it up to them by letting their mothers plan a big wedding that had been splashed across all of the tabloids.

To Jon's dismay half of the guests were people that neither of them knew, but that Hunter had invited.

As soon as the pair had shared their first dance at the reception and cut the cake, they'd made their escape, heading to the roof to share their own private dance and a moment of peace before they headed back to face the music.

Still, in spite of his father's continued meddling, for the most part things had been going great between them. 

They'd both learned that communication was key and they were both confident enough in each other that they let go many of their long-held insecurities and began to live life for themselves and no one else.

Part of their new outlooks on life included pursuing their careers in the way they wanted and not what others kept telling them they should or shouldn't do.

Colby finished up his series and ended up changing genres all together when he sat down to write a historical novel while Jon began to broaden his photography skills as he shot some concerts and sporting events out in Vegas.

Despite being told they were making mistakes by stepping off their current paths, they found their fans taking the journey with them while opening up a whole new avenue of readers and collectors.

More confident in themselves, they finally decided to make another childhood dream come true when they began to work together on a brand new horror book series that Colby had a ton of ideas for.

Together, they'd thrown ideas back and forth as Jon helped Colby come up with a dramatic conclusion and Colby helped Jon figure out how to visually present a particularly tense scene between the main characters.

They'd even brought Jeff in to do a couple of illustrations for stuff that Jon just couldn't quite manage with his photos.

They were both extremely proud of what they'd made and they just hoped that everyone else would be too.

...

Now, here they were in front of a crowd in the auditorium at their old high school, presenting the finished product to everyone that mattered. 

It had been Jon's suggestion to do the launch there, stating that all of the biggest moments in their life had somehow always led there.

Besides, he'd told him, he still needed to make up for missing Colby's first reading there all of those years ago. 

Now, he stood by Colby's side, beaming proudly as his husband shared the first couple of chapters to a captive audience.

They had displayed some of his and Jeff's work on canvas boards throughout the auditorium and they'd set up a little banquet at the back with some light drinks and food for everyone to enjoy.

After Colby's reading, the pair had taken to the mic to thank everyone for coming and to answer a few questions before they were set loose to mingle. 

For the next 20 minutes, Jon followed Colby around and played the part of the proud husband, but before long he began to twitch nervously and Colby squeezed his hand, leaning over to urge him to go change, which he gratefully did.

Coming back out in jeans and a t-shirt, he ended up out in the parking lot with Jeff and Mark and a bottle of Jack, stretched out in the back of Mark's truck as they passed it around and chatted, all of them laughing when Dolph suddenly shuffled out, standing by the truck as he made small talk sheepishly.

Rolling his eyes, Jon patted down next to him, "Come on man, there's plenty of room and plenty of this to go around!" he held up the bottle, laughing when Dolph eagerly scrambled up next to them.

That's how Colby found them awhile later, all laughing loudly as he appeared with his hands on his sides threateningly, "So this is where you've been!" he snapped at Jon, making him squirm.

"Yeah, you told me to go get comfortable. I didn't think you'd want me back in there like this. I figured you had everything under control," he shared uncomfortably.

Colby rolled his eyes at him, "I'm not mad that you're out here doofus, I'm mad that you didn't invite me...now move!"

Pushing him over into a groaning Jeff, Colby threw himself down with a sigh as Jon tilted the bottle down at him, "I don't think I can pretend to be interested in one more author who wants to work with me!"

"That's what you get for opening up to collaborations, now everyone and their brother are going to be after you!" Dolph teased him, making him give him the finger.

"There's a big difference between working with my husband and some random person I've never even met before tonight!" Colby snapped, making Jon wince and lean down to rub his shoulders, earning him a grateful glance.

"Look at it this way," Mark shared. "Seemed to me that everyone was enjoying themselves in there and that massive pile of books was certainly dwindling down. I'd call this night a success all around."

Sitting up, Colby nodded, "Yeah, that's true and we couldn't have done it without all of you, so thanks!"

"Yeah, what he said," Jon added on, making them all smirk at him.

Reaching around into the cab of his truck, Mark suddenly pulled out a tube of red cups that he promptly emptied the rest of the alcohol into, passing them out quickly and holding up his own cup, "To Colby and Jon and the perfect partnership all around!"

"Here, here!" Dolph added, the trio all whistling as Colby leaned over to kiss Jon.

Pulling back, he kicked at his friend, while holding up his own glass, "To everyone being where they are supposed to be!" as he said it he shared a grin with Jon, who turned to beam at a blushing Mark and Jeff, who he'd caught making out in the back of the garage the week before.

He was thrilled that his friends had finally seen what everyone else already had, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to take every opportunity to tease them about it.

With another sigh, Colby got up and turned to Jon, "Can I talk you into coming inside to wrap things up with me?"

Rolling his eyes skyward, Jon gave his own heavy sigh, "Lead the way, but you owe me later."

They both threw up their middle fingers as their friends catcalled behind them.

...

By the time they'd said goodbye to everyone and loaded up their car with what was left over, only Seth's parents and his agent remained. 

Jon had walked his mom out earlier and hadn't returned yet, so Colby took a minute to chat with his family and made plans for the following weekend in New York with his agent before walking them out.

Outside, he wasn't surprised to find that Jon was no where to be seen. With a grin, he waved as the others drove off before making his way up to the school roof.

In the doorway, he paused, pulling out his phone and snapping a quick picture, which made Jon let out a deep laugh as he turned around, "Revenge?" he asked.

Colby shook his head, "Just figured I'd show you what a truly beautiful view really looks like," he shared, making his way to his side.

Shaking his head, Jon teased, "You're already getting laid tonight so you don't need to use the cheap pick up lines, babe!"

Sliding into his arms, the pair turned to watch as the sun set in front of them. It had been a long, hard road to get here, but here they were nonetheless.

"You know, if we hadn't met that day I'm not sure where I'd be right now. Probably laying in a ditch somewhere or in prison," Jon whispered, arms tightening around Colby's waist.

Raising his face to look up at him, Colby shrugged, "Same," he stated. "I'd probably be the CEO of Hunter's company, slaving away everyday and married to some Stepford husband he picked out for me. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"HEY!!" the silence was disturbed by the obnoxious yelling of their friends as Mark's truck noisily swerved back into the lot.

"What?!" Jon yelled back.

"Dolph's taking us into the city to some club, want to come?" Jeff hollered.

Sharing a glance, they turned back around to shake their heads, "Pass!" they managed to yell in unison.

Shaking their heads at them, their friends grumbled and took back off.

Holding out his hand to him, Jon asked, "So, home?"

Colby nodded, "Home."

And with that they headed out, hands clasped tightly between them.


End file.
